Planting implements such as planters and drills are used for planting seed in agricultural fields. Planting implements include a frame having one or more sections. Each section supports multiple row units configured to apply seeds to a field as the implement is pulled across the field by an agricultural vehicle (e.g., a wheeled or tracked tractor). Seeds are stored in a seed bin mounted on or pulled behind the implement. Planters and drills often include additional systems for applying granular or liquid fertilizer, insecticide or herbicide to the field.
Planters include meters configured to dispense or meter individual seeds to row units. In contrast, drills use fluted rolls to meter a mass or volume of seed. The metering and placement accuracy is typically higher for planters than drills. Seeds of crops (e.g., corn) which require relatively accurate metering and placement for efficient growth are typically planted using planters, and seeds of crop which grow efficiently in more varied environments (e.g., oats; wheat) are planted by less accurate and less expensive drills.
Many planters and drills are made by Case Corp., the assignee of this invention. For example, the 955 Series EARLY RISER CYCLO AIR.RTM. Planters have central-fill seed bins for storing seed, pressurized air metering systems including cyclo seed drums for metering seed, and air distribution systems for delivering the metered seed to the row units. Planters in this series plant different numbers of rows at different row widths. For example, a 12/23 Solid Row Crop (SRC) Cyclo Planter plants 23 narrow rows or 12 wide rows when every other row unit is locked up. Drills made by Case Corp. include the 5300, 5400, 5500, 7100 and 7200 drills which include different numbers of openers, opener spacings and seeding widths. The 5500 Soybean Special Grain Drill, for example, includes 24 openers, 5 inch spacings and a 30 foot width.
Planting implements such as those described above may be equipped with variable-rate controllers permitting the operator to plant seed at target seed planting rates. Such implements may further be equipped with monitors, whether integral with or separate from the controllers, for displaying theoretical or estimated planting rates. An example of such a controller is available on the 955 Series Planters discussed above, and examples of such monitors are the Seed Flow II and Early Riser monitors sold by Case Corp. The seed planting rates are estimated because the above-described controllers and monitors do not include mechanisms or systems to count the seeds actually planted. Rather, the rates are estimated based upon known parameters such as the meter constant (i.e., seeds per metering drum revolution), meter rotation speed, row width and distance traveled.
However, depending on the condition and adjustments of the planting implement, estimated seed planting rates may deviate substantially from the actual planting rates. For example, operator adjustments to 955 Series Planters which may cause errors between estimated and actual seed planting rates include: the pressure setting of the cyclo air metering and distribution systems; the setting of a seed cutoff brush which removes seed from seed pockets in the drum; the height of a seed chute extension affecting the level of seed in the drum; and the height of a leveling bar ensuring uniform distribution of seed across the bottom of the seed drum on hilly terrain. Accuracy may also be impaired by partial or total blockages of the tubes which deliver seeds from the drum to the row units.
To alert the operator to conditions decreasing the performance of the planting implement, it would be desirable to provide a planting implement having a system for monitoring the actual seed planting rates by counting seeds actually planted, and for displaying data representative of such planting rates. It would also be desirable to calculate in real-time statistics associated with the performance of the system, including statistics corresponding to the product rate application, statistics corresponding to the progress of the application of the product to a field, and statistics corresponding to the status of the implement itself. It would also be desirable to display the statistics in a format easily understood by the operator for determining whether the implement is operating properly and at an actual planting rate consistent with the desired planting rate. It would further be desirable to monitor and display such data for different sections or row units of an implement. Display of such data by section or row unit would be particularly desirable for variable-rate planting implements wherein commanded application rates vary by section or row unit. Based on such displayed statistics, the operator can make appropriate adjustments or repairs to the planting implement to maximize its overall performance.